I was in charge of financing and development at one of the largest development-finance institutions in the U.S. where we acquired companies and financed more than 450 businesses and projects using equity, debt and leases. Now I consult with corporations (including Medtronic and General Mills), governments (U.S. and state) and financiers. And I teach in MBA and Executive MBA programs around the world. After 12 years at the University of Minnesota, I am now at Florida International University. I write books, including "Business Financing: 25 Keys to Raising Money" (NY Times MBA Series), and "Bootstrap to Billions." I have engineering and business administration degrees. My next book is about how many of America's greatest entrepreneurs grew without, or by delaying, venture capital.

My point is not just about Miami. Cities, regions and countries around the world have all been trying to become the next Silicon Valley, Some of them spend a lot of taxpayer money trying, and they shout from the rooftops when the first shoots come out of the ground. To all of these cities, regions and countries, and to journalists, my suggestion is that they should really understand what Silicon Valley has done, and how it has done it, before making unrealistic comparisons.

Other empires, from the Greek to the Roman, the Ottoman, the Spanish, and the British, were built on blood, by conquering and killing, by enslaving people, and by exploiting the beaten. Silicon Valley’s “empire” should be recognized as one of the greatest builders of wealth the world has ever seen. It has created huge industries without killing anyone, enslaving anyone, or exploiting anyone (at least without their willful consent). In fact, it has connected the world, and brought wealth, knowledge, information, and freedom to many more people than any civilization in history. Some highlights:

Silicon Valley has succeeded for nearly 50 years by creating and/or dominating emerging industries including semiconductors, personal computers, software, biotechnology, telecom, Internet 1.0 and now Internet 2.0 – in fact every new industry of the last 50 years.

It has created more billion-dollar companies (companies built to over $1 billion in valuation and sales from scratch) than any other area in the last 50 years

It has 98-100% of the top 50 VC funds for the last few years

And it is not yet resting on its laurels, to the dismay of many. Its energy is still palpable. What you see in Silicon Valley is the restlessness of youth eager to make its mark, to create new industries, and to build fortunes. And obviously, the insatiable appetite of others to collect more wealth than some countries will spend in their lifetime.

For any other region to become the next Silicon Valley, it first has to beat the current Silicon Valley. It has to get this unique mix of entrepreneurs, financiers, advisers, and technologies – and then add a pinch of greatness. This means it has to build companies that beat Silicon Valley’s candidates on a consistent basis. No other region has been able to do this.

Silicon Valley has excelled in the capital-intensive, VC method of building great companies, and no other area has been able to match its performance in this strategy. Areas outside Silicon Valley that have sought to challenge its dominance using VC have not shown much success. To succeed, they have had to practice guerilla venture development outside Silicon Valley and focus more on developing capital-smart entrepreneurs rather than wasting money on capital-intensive ventures. 88% of billion-dollar entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley used VC. 91% of billion-dollar entrepreneurs outside Silicon Valley did not use VC. Minnesota is a good example of an area that used capital-efficient strategies to build one of the highest number per capita of Fortune 100 companies. And nearly all of them used capital efficiency, not venture capital.

Miami does not have Silicon Valley’s technologies, entrepreneurs, money, and expertise; it does not have Minnesota’s business culture of building non-family focused, capital-efficient ventures. It has Latin America’s family-business culture. The key question for Miami is whether it is possible to build giant companies in the U.S. with a business culture of family control.

MY TAKE: Miami, and all areas outside Silicon Valley, will do better by using Minnesota’s capital-efficient, guerilla strategy rather than trying to emulate Silicon Valley’s capital intensive strategy. Perhaps because it is happening in our lifetimes, and frustrating the rest of us, we are not recognizing the historic significance of Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley will go down in history as one of mankind’s greatest achievements for the revolutionary industries it has led, the giant companies it has developed, the immense wealth it has created, the iconic entrepreneurs it has spawned, and the countless lives it has improved. Many areas of the world have allocated resources to develop growth ventures, to create jobs, and to improve the economy. But all they end up doing is wasting money – usually taxpayer money. Political leaders and lobbyists who want to use public money to build the “next Silicon Valley” should be asked to build billion-dollar companies locally, to do it consistently, and to do it without taxpayer money. I’ll believe it when I see it.

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